Monday, May 7, 2012

Plushies I bet you didn't even know existed!! I am an Ai Yazawa fan (most partial to Paradise Kiss), and these are some plush from one of her early series, Gokinjo Monogatari (Neighborhood Story). This set was released by Banpresto in 1996, and is so friggin' hard to find! I have seen pictures of a few others in the set, but not many. These are the only three I've seen for sale, Tsutomu, Mariko, and Miwako:

Miwako! I just found her a few days after I posted this, in another tote/container. Shoe peeling, nothing out of the ordinary, and otherwise in great shape! Gotta love those lips ^o^

They're pretty tall, at 9". The tag eludes to the rest of the set:

If anyone has got the others of this set, please send me pictures, I'd love to see them!! I don't know if they ever show up on YAJ, but my collecting days are over so I wouldn't start looking now, personally.

Knew those ones existed? Hm. Well maybe I can still stump you! How about this one!?:

Did I surprise you? XD I ran into this plush one time and nabbed it right away, and haven't seen it since. It's Happy Berry-chan! On her tag it says "Happy Angel." This isn't from the above set, but was made by Bandai in 2005. She was (I'm guessing due to the different manufacturer, who the manufacturer is, the bar code, and the silver Toei sticker) for sale in stores. Somehow I find the rarest plush are the ones sold in stores, which makes no sense to me. Maybe someone can enlighten me. Is it because you actually have to pay for them instead of winning them?
Anyhow, Berry-chan is just over 10" tall, and her legs kind of bend where they meet the torso so she can sit. She's got wires in her hair so you can manipulate it just right to get her signature look. She's made out of a thinner and different fabric than normal plush.
I think she's just great. I really love having relics from a series that doesn't have to do with a character, but a brand or something specific that is used in the series. Like, a duelist ring from Utena, or a headband from Naruto (ok, that just sounds like cosplay items), or a keychain from Bakuman that is on the keys that Mashiro uses to get into his uncle's studio. Nods to a series that are actual items. I just think they're really fun to have. Not sure if I'll sell Berry-chan or keep her. I'm sure she'll stand the test of time, and I love how she's present in so many Yazawa series.